July 14, 2010

Talking 'Crooked' Hardcover Music with Kristin Hersh from Tintin to Songs as Therapy

On July 14, instead of starting the day with a revolution, I take a break from culinary matters to serve you a nice helping of Kristin Hersh thoughts, 24 hours before the release of Crooked, or Hardcover Music as I call her new release in book form.

Here's what came out of the stockpot.

Q: Kristin, Besides the logistics, what are the advantages of playing solo?

In
the studio, I'm in a zone: running around, grabbing instruments off walls
and throwing down tracks of god knows what without having to discuss
it first. Live, I have very little to worry about except how to disappear
and let the song play itself.

Q: Are there some songs of yours that you never play in that context?

Most
of my songs rely on the production technique they were originally recorded
with (at least in my opinion), and so other musicians are necessary
to bring about that sonic boom we all know so well as "musical impact."
Others, however, are better served as the pencil sketch-skeletons
that guitar and voice create.

Q: Are your current musical influences way different than the original ones?

I'm
not sure I've ever had musical influences - I would have liked to sound
like bands I loved when I was younger, but I always ended up speaking
my own language.

Q: How does it feel over time going from influenced to influencer?

Influencing
other musicians to sound like you stylistically is probably not
healthy, but moving them to sound like themselves is an honor.

Q: Is writing for you a form of therapy, an anchor?

I'm never sure
if songs are therapy or disease.

Q: I saw you mentioning Milou, the dog from Tintin recently, are you a fan?

I
thought his name was Snowy, but sure...when I was a kid, I used to babysit
for a family that had an enormous Tin Tin collection that helped me
stay awake while I waited for the parents to come home. Because of this,
I had to go to the Tin Tin museum in Brussels when 50FootWave played
down the street.

Q: Your new record 'Crooked' is published in book form on July 15, where did the
idea come from?

The need for a tangible object with
intrinsic value. I disagree with the recording industry which claims
that music has been devalued by the internet, but I admit that CD's
have been devalued by an industry that put so much crap on them. I
wanted to push the idea that music is measured in impact rather than
plastic while still giving people something beautiful to hold in
their hands.

Q: At first look it feels like a poetry book, was it your intention?

I
guess you can't help that when you print lyrics and write in a sort of stream
of conscious way.

Q: Flowers are prominent in the illustrations for Crooked, why?

Flower
images accompanied every track I uploaded at CASH Music. Flowers
are natural, simple, imperfect and still lovely - qualities I look
for in songs.

Q: Did you create everything in the book including these illustrations?

The
only role I played in the book was the writing. Jesse Von Doom from CASH
organized the entire layout and the photographs were taken by L. Fletcher.

Q: You will also publish an autobiography on August 31st. Were both Crooked and that book written
at the same time?

Yes, Crooked the record was building itself
out of its constituent pieces as I was writing the memoir ("Rat
Girl" in the U.S., "Paradoxical Undressing" in the UK). Both took
about 3 years to come to fruition.

Q: How different was it as a creative experience, writing long form, from writing
songs?

Songs come to me fully formed at 4 in the morning. Long
form writing I do from 1 a.m. until the sun comes up and it does
*not* come fully formed. I write a sentence, then re-write it, then
re-write it, then move on to the next sentence and write that a few
times, etc. until I finish a paragraph. Then I erase the paragraph
and start all over again. I write *really* slowly...

Q: How do you handle recording, touring, the books and life?

It's
easy...I don't have a real job!

Q: I noticed in the UK recently a number of shows featuring people whose record
covers became famous like Storm Thorgerson (Pink Floyd) and one featuring work from Ray Lowry (Clash 'London Calling'), is it
nostalgia or is art cover part of the tactile experience that vinyl provided?

Since
music is rarely considered "art" (especially rock music!), us musicians
probably want to be associated with art as much as possible.

Q: Do you pay attention to what you eat while on the road?

When I'm
working, I don't have to eat, but that's not a very healthy lifestyle.
Because I have 4 children who've grown up on the road, though, I do
have to wrangle 3 meals a day and I'm pretty desperate to keep them
healthy. A sick child on tour is scary.

Comments

Talking 'Crooked' Hardcover Music with Kristin Hersh from Tintin to Songs as Therapy

On July 14, instead of starting the day with a revolution, I take a break from culinary matters to serve you a nice helping of Kristin Hersh thoughts, 24 hours before the release of Crooked, or Hardcover Music as I call her new release in book form.

Here's what came out of the stockpot.

Q: Kristin, Besides the logistics, what are the advantages of playing solo?

In
the studio, I'm in a zone: running around, grabbing instruments off walls
and throwing down tracks of god knows what without having to discuss
it first. Live, I have very little to worry about except how to disappear
and let the song play itself.

Q: Are there some songs of yours that you never play in that context?

Most
of my songs rely on the production technique they were originally recorded
with (at least in my opinion), and so other musicians are necessary
to bring about that sonic boom we all know so well as "musical impact."
Others, however, are better served as the pencil sketch-skeletons
that guitar and voice create.

Q: Are your current musical influences way different than the original ones?

I'm
not sure I've ever had musical influences - I would have liked to sound
like bands I loved when I was younger, but I always ended up speaking
my own language.

Q: How does it feel over time going from influenced to influencer?

Influencing
other musicians to sound like you stylistically is probably not
healthy, but moving them to sound like themselves is an honor.

Q: Is writing for you a form of therapy, an anchor?

I'm never sure
if songs are therapy or disease.

Q: I saw you mentioning Milou, the dog from Tintin recently, are you a fan?

I
thought his name was Snowy, but sure...when I was a kid, I used to babysit
for a family that had an enormous Tin Tin collection that helped me
stay awake while I waited for the parents to come home. Because of this,
I had to go to the Tin Tin museum in Brussels when 50FootWave played
down the street.

Q: Your new record 'Crooked' is published in book form on July 15, where did the
idea come from?

The need for a tangible object with
intrinsic value. I disagree with the recording industry which claims
that music has been devalued by the internet, but I admit that CD's
have been devalued by an industry that put so much crap on them. I
wanted to push the idea that music is measured in impact rather than
plastic while still giving people something beautiful to hold in
their hands.

Q: At first look it feels like a poetry book, was it your intention?

I
guess you can't help that when you print lyrics and write in a sort of stream
of conscious way.

Q: Flowers are prominent in the illustrations for Crooked, why?

Flower
images accompanied every track I uploaded at CASH Music. Flowers
are natural, simple, imperfect and still lovely - qualities I look
for in songs.

Q: Did you create everything in the book including these illustrations?

The
only role I played in the book was the writing. Jesse Von Doom from CASH
organized the entire layout and the photographs were taken by L. Fletcher.

Q: You will also publish an autobiography on August 31st. Were both Crooked and that book written
at the same time?

Yes, Crooked the record was building itself
out of its constituent pieces as I was writing the memoir ("Rat
Girl" in the U.S., "Paradoxical Undressing" in the UK). Both took
about 3 years to come to fruition.

Q: How different was it as a creative experience, writing long form, from writing
songs?

Songs come to me fully formed at 4 in the morning. Long
form writing I do from 1 a.m. until the sun comes up and it does
*not* come fully formed. I write a sentence, then re-write it, then
re-write it, then move on to the next sentence and write that a few
times, etc. until I finish a paragraph. Then I erase the paragraph
and start all over again. I write *really* slowly...

Q: How do you handle recording, touring, the books and life?

It's
easy...I don't have a real job!

Q: I noticed in the UK recently a number of shows featuring people whose record
covers became famous like Storm Thorgerson (Pink Floyd) and one featuring work from Ray Lowry (Clash 'London Calling'), is it
nostalgia or is art cover part of the tactile experience that vinyl provided?

Since
music is rarely considered "art" (especially rock music!), us musicians
probably want to be associated with art as much as possible.

Q: Do you pay attention to what you eat while on the road?

When I'm
working, I don't have to eat, but that's not a very healthy lifestyle.
Because I have 4 children who've grown up on the road, though, I do
have to wrangle 3 meals a day and I'm pretty desperate to keep them
healthy. A sick child on tour is scary.